Bedfellows
by Iellix
Summary: Plagued by nightmares at the Ice Palace, DG finds comfort in someone to help keep the spooks away. DGxGlitch implied, oneshot.


It is 11pm on a school night. I have a 9am class tomorrow. When do the plot bunnies strike? _Now._ I can't win! This particular one-shot is inspired by an idea I had a while ago—I thought that DG would probably be reluctant to _ever_ visit the Ice Palace again, and then wondered what would happen if she _had_ to stay there.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Tin Man.

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She hated this place. Oh, how she hated it.

Sure, it was pretty—all white and green marble, beautifully carved spires and framed voids, the whole place full of more beautiful furniture and decoration than she'd ever seen before in her life. It was almost like a museum, except she was actually supposed to _live_ on all of this stuff. She could spend hours wandering through the portrait gallery of thumbing through books in the library, exploring the immense and beautiful courtyards and gardens.

But she still hated it.

Because of what happened here, a long time ago.

No matter what she did, no matter how much she assured herself that the ghosts of the past were gone and she was perfectly safe, every time DG closed her eyes, the same image appeared in her head. It was the one she saw eight months ago, looking into the mirror in the long-unused bedroom at the Ice Palace: the image of a young, possessed Azkadellia using black magic to choke the life from her sleeping little sister. The image of the powerful sorceress Queen, sacrificing the power that could have been used to keep the Outer Zone safe from the ancient Witch in order to save the life of her daughter.

It _haunted_ her.

And so she couldn't stand this place.

At the very least, she wasn't actually expected to sleep in that same room—she was given a different one, far away from the old one, but that didn't help at all. Even though she knew that she was safe and that there weren't any evil witches hiding in the shadows waiting to kill her, when night fell the young Princess was overcome with terror and couldn't sleep.

What would certainly help would be a bit of company at night, just someone warm to be near her and keep away the demons, because it was alone that the terrible thoughts came flooding into her head. A few times she had slept with Azkadellia; then, like a frightened child, her parents. One night, out of absolute desperation, she convinced Tutor to spend the night in her room as Toto, telling him that she thought she had a rat in her room and could he catch it.

Now, she was running out of excuses, and DG found herself curled up alone in bed, wrapped tightly in blankets, eyes wide, shivering in fear. She'd pretty much resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't be sleeping tonight, but her mind kept conjuring up more and more terrifying things, where every little noise in her room was something scary coming to kill her.

The prospect of yet _another_ sleepless night just hardened her resolve to inform her parents, first thing in the morning, that she was leaving the Northern Islands for Central City whether they liked it or not, and she would _never _set foot back in this place again. But that was for tomorrow—right _now_ she had to concentrate on making her mind stop coming up with creatively gruesome death scenarios.

Ambrose popped into her thoughts—or Glitch, as she still called him in private—and the demons in her head quieted slightly. Even six months after the surgery restoring his brain, she had trouble thinking of him as an advisor to the Queen. To her, he'd always be the cheerful ninny that kept her smiling on their journey, when all around them the world was slowly falling apart. He'd kept that quality, the ability to make her laugh, for which she was very grateful. The months since her return to the OZ had brought on a deluge of lessons and crash courses in Princess-dom 101, which all proved to be very stressful to DG, whose biggest ambition less than a year ago was to get to work without getting a speeding ticket. Glitch helped her to keep it all in perspective, make her smile and forget, if only for a little while, the incredible weight on her shoulders.

He was her closest friend but for Az, and she always looked forward to the time they could spend together, when he wasn't performing some task for the Queen.

Though, were she completely honest with herself, her feelings for him extended beyond just simple friendship. Maybe she would tell him someday, but for now she hesitated for fear of looking like a silly little girl with a crush. But she was falling steadily and hopelessly in love with him.

Something wooden in the room settled with a loud _crack!_ that jolted DG out of her thoughts and into a swiftly intensifying state of panic. Her heart leapt in her chest so fiercely that she was pretty sure they could hear it throughout the palace. Trembling, she forced herself to unfurl from her tight, protective little ball and turn on the light beside her bed.

"There's nothing there. Nothing's gonna hurt me. There's nothing there, there's nothing there…" she whispered, hoping that maybe if she repeated it enough times she'd actually convince herself. No such luck.

This was absolutely ridiculous. She was twenty years old, far too old to be scared of ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties and things that go "bump" in the night! She willed herself to get out of bed, commanded that her legs walk where she wanted them to, and shuffled towards the door to her chambers. A midnight walk was in order—if she could tire herself out, maybe she'd sleep. And the sooner she got to sleep, the sooner morning would come and she could leave the Ice Palace behind forever.

The palace hallways were always well-lit at night, for the guards and for the servants who went about their business long after everybody went to bed, or long before they got up. DG appreciated this. It meant fewer dark corners to scare her on her walk.

She padded through the halls, silent in her fuzzy socks and old pajamas, consisting of sweatpants her foster mother must have owned since the mid-90s and a tattered old sweatshirt with Porky Pig on the back. After getting settled back into the OZ, she was allowed to go back to Nebraska to pick up some of her things. She took back a few of her cherished keepsakes—photo albums, old journals, a handful of knickknacks with sentimental value—and as much of her old clothing as she could stuff into her suitcase. The Queen frowned initially on seeing her daughter traipsing around in jeans, but eventually relented and agreed that they fit the Princess's personality far better than silken gowns.

A few circuits around the upper floor, she decided, would be enough to make her sleepy, and she went on her way. She passed guardsmen on patrol and servants making their rounds along the way, but none of them took very much notice of her; they'd all grown used to the Princess walking about the palace late at night.

After she finished the first round, she felt the tiniest bit calmer. Maybe there was a chance she could get some sleep tonight.

But as she rounded a corner, she collided with somebody coming the other way and she opened her mouth to scream; a hand covered her mouth and she struggled against it, thrashing around. The other person let her go immediately and backed away.

"Princess! I'm—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you!" She heard the familiar male voice whisper-yell.

She said nothing in response, only whimpered and shook. Her entire body was rigid and folded in on itself, as if she was trying to disappear.

"Deege?" The man reached out a hand and touched her cheek gently. This startled her from her terrified stupor.

"Glitch—Ambrose—Glitch!" She panted, switching back and forth between the names, like she was having trouble choosing one to call him by. "It's only you… thank goodness."

He stood before her in his heavy blue-striped pajamas and dressing gown, his eyebrows knit in concern.

"I didn't mean to scare you, but I was afraid you'd attract every guard in the palace if you screamed, and—DG, are you all right?" He interrupted himself. "You're trembling."

"I'm just a little cold," she lied. "And you startled me." She forced a smile in an attempt to convince _both_ of them that she was all right. "What're you doing out so late?"

"I was going to ask _you_ the same thing."

"Couldn't sleep. I decided a walk might help. You?"

"The same—only I remedied _my_ insomnia with a midnight trip to the kitchens." He grinned. "You seem to be having a lot of sleepless nights of late—is something wrong?"

She tucked her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt to hide their trembling. She hadn't actually told anybody about her nightmares, or that she was jumping at shadows all night, convinced she was going to be murdered by monsters.

"You can tell me, Deege," he said. "I'd rather know than be left wondering."

"I'm fine."

Glitch shook his head. "You can't lie to me. Something's wrong."

She wouldn't look at him. "You'll think it's silly," she said. It would be humiliating to look like a little girl in front of him, scared of the dark.

"I'm your _friend._ I'm not here to judge you. Tell me? If I can't help you, then maybe I can show you who _can."_ He tilted her chin up. "Please, Doll?"

"This place scares the shit out of me, all right?" She said, perhaps a little too loudly. "I can't sleep at night because I'm scared of _everything_ and _nothing._ I know nothing's gonna happen to me, but every single little noise or moving shadow my mind turns into horrific death scenarios! My subconscious is murdering me on a nightly basis—last night I dreamed I was beheaded by a kitten with an axe!"

"A kitten—?"

"This is _not normal,_ Glitch! I just want to get _out_ of this place! I can't _stand_ it here. It's scary." She punctuated her words by shaking briefly.

He thought for a moment after she finished speaking. "Why?"

"You can't be serious. You should know why—I _died_ here. By all rights, I shouldn't be around today because of what happened here, but I'm expected to just come in and live in this place like everything's all rainbows and kittens. But I can't. I hate this place. It gives me nightmares, even while I'm awake."

Warm hands rested on her shoulders and she felt calmed, if only a little bit.

"Why didn't you _tell_ anybody about this?" His voice was soft, not scolding.

She sniffled. "I didn't know if anybody would believe me. I don't hardly remember anything about the past, but I remember this enough that it scares me. And my mother…" she trailed off. "I don't know if she wants to be reminded that I can remember my own… death."

"Her Majesty will understand. She would rather you be elsewhere and happy, instead of close to her and terrified of imagined monsters."

"I guess so—I already decided I'm leaving first thing tomorrow, no matter what anybody says."

"She'll understand," he repeated. He squeezed her shoulders gently.

"I hope so. It'll be hard to explain how my fears are all completely unfounded, but I'm leaving because of them anyway."

"That's the worst kind of fear, though, Princess. Physical fears can be avoided—snakes, heights, spiders, loud noises. But when the mind is making demons by itself, there is nowhere to go to escape them. They're always there, just _waiting_ for you to close your eyes."

The girl nodded. "That's exactly it."

"You and I, perhaps, know a bit more about mind-demons than the average OZian."

She shivered again, then stifled a yawn. She was tired but still feared going back to her own rooms to sleep.

"Maybe you should get to bed," he suggested.

"Probably."

"Would you like me to escort you back to your rooms?"

"I—yes, please."

"Very well, my lady Princess," he said, offering his arm with a theatrically dramatic mock-bow. DG giggled despite herself. She loved that he could make her laugh even now.

She let Glitch lead the way, and he chose the long way around. As they walked, she couldn't help but stare up at him, hoping that imprinting him in her head would prevent nightmares tonight. He still looked handsome, even in his pajamas and with his hair disarranged; his hair had grown back quickly since the surgeons shaved it all off when they re-implanted his brain. He had expressed the desire for it to grow in straight, which it didn't, but DG loved his madly curly hair. And those big brown eyes. And that dopey grin that just absolutely melted her heart.

She loved everything about him, really.

When he stopped at the door to her rooms, she was so lost in thought that she kept walking and plowed into his back.

"Oumf!" He stumbled forward and almost fell down, but managed to steady and balance himself. "Did you forget the brake, Deege?"

Even as she was apologizing, his remark made her laugh again. "No—no, I wasn't paying attention. Are you all right? I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"I'm fine, really. You present only _slightly_ less bodily harm to me than would, say, a baby bunny."

"Those baby rabbits have a real vicious streak to them, you know," she said with mock-warning tones. "Thousands of people die every year from bunny-related injuries."

This time he laughed, but the Princess found herself steadily slipping back to fear. When he turned to her, presumably to wish her a good night, she gripped his arm and held on tightly.

"DG—?"

"Please don't leave me!" She begged. "I don't want to be alone tonight. Stay with me, please!"

By now she was too scared of sleeping alone to worry about being scared of what Glitch would think of her.

His eyes were wide at her sudden plea. "In—in your room with you?" He stuttered. "All night?"

She nodded. "Please, Glitch—Ambrose. I really, _really_ don't want to be by myself."

He stroked her cheek with a feather-light touch that made her face prickle with goosebumps. "Are you _that_ afraid?"

Another nod; she looked at that door as if it was some sort of malevolent entity and clutched his arm tighter.

He took a deep breath. "All right—I'll stay with you. One would have to be a monster to make you sleep alone when you're this afraid."

Without warning, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly; he hesitated, then hugged her back, holding her close.

"Thank you," she whispered against his shoulder. He'd never heard her voice sound so small before.

They held onto one another for a moment longer, and DG savoured the feel of his arms around her. For now, this was as close as she could get—and she was fine with that.

Glitch cleared his throat, and she quickly let him go and stepped away to open the door with shaking hands. It squealed on those old hinges, and even _this_ DG's mind managed to turn into something evil. It sounded like the wicked laughter of a madman. Or a madwoman. A witch.

A warm hand slid around hers and she looked up to find Glitch standing at her side.

"I'll go first," he murmured.

She didn't argue with this offer. Instead, she held onto his hand with both of hers and let him lead her into the bedroom.

"Thanks for staying with me," she whispered as they settled into bed. "I just… didn't want to be alone in here. This place talks at night."

"Talks?"

As if to answer, a groaning creak came from somewhere in the room, and DG yelped fearfully and buried her face into his pajama shirt.

"Talks," she repeated, trying to get as close to him as possible.

"Hush, it's all right, Deege," he soothed as he stroked her back comfortingly.

As he held her, eventually her breathing evened and her trembling subsided. She was so grateful that he agreed to stay with her for the night—being alone in this dark, creaking room was the perfect environment for all of those "mind-demons" to run rampant. Having someone else with her kept the monsters at bay, and for the first in many nights she felt comfortable, at peace. She turned into his chest and breathed deeply. He smelled good—a mix of clean clothes, bread from the kitchen, and the vaguest hint of straw and hay. It made her sleepy, and she sighed contentedly.

Through the drowsy fog, she thought of one last thing.

"Glitch?"

"Hm?" He sounded like he was nearly asleep himself.

"Tomorrow, when I leave—will you come with me?"

There was a pause, silence. She wondered if he'd just fallen asleep.

"Certainly, Princes," he replied.

Satisfied with his answer, DG let herself drift off to sleep. Instead of being plagued by nightmares, her dreams were pleasant, and sweet; she dreamed of Glitch, of dancing. In her dream, he kissed her softly and called her "Sweet", and her chest fluttered.

Someday she would tell him that she loved him, when the right moment presented itself. Maybe when they were in Central City, just the two of them alone together; maybe another time, another place. But for now, this was enough.

For now, he could just keep the demons away.

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You know, one of these days I'll get back to writing "Bell and Hammer," but real life got in the way and _kicked my ass._ I promise, I'll pick it up again soon! But in the meantime, I hope a little cutesy one-shot keeps you satisfied.

I hope you enjoyed—reviews are appreciated, but not demanded.


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